Some of the Netherlands’ biggest cities such as Amsterdam, Utrecht and Groningen will have a shortfall of millions of euros to pay welfare benefits next year, the Volkskrant says on Monday.

A new method of calculating how the state’s contribution to local government is divided up will cost Amsterdam €25m, or 4.6% of its welfare budget, the paper says.

Groningen will lose €16m, or 11% of its budget, and Utrecht will miss out on €5m, or 4.4%. By contrast, Tilburg, Venlo and Arnhem will all have more to spend.

Until 2014, councils could claim all spending on welfare (bijstand) back from national government. Now, however, factors such as the age and education of the population at large and the amount of social housing are taken into account when the calculations are being made.

Migrants

For example, the number of non-western migrants has an impact on the budget but there is no differentiation between the actual jobless rates among the different groups. So Turkish and Vietnamese immigrants are given the same weighting as people from Afghanistan or Somalia, even though the latter two groups are much more likely to claim welfare benefits, the Volkskrant says.

‘It has become a lottery,’ René Paats, chairman of the social services umbrella group Divosa, told the paper.

Junior social affairs minister Jetta Klijnsma told MPs earlier that 63% of councils are better off under the new system. In addition, there are extra reserves for councils which are struggling, she said.

Stimulated

Advisors also say the new system is better because councils will be stimulated to help people back into work.

However, Amsterdam alderman Arjan Vliegenthart said the budget changes represent ‘a nasty surprise’.

‘As a city, Amsterdam has a lot of vulnerable residents but we have been able to help many of them find jobs. We would not expect this sort of spending cut and I don’t know how we will deal with the shortfall.’